S63.253A vs S63.253D
S63.253A (Unspecified dislocation of left middle finger, initial encounter) compared with S63.253D (Unspecified dislocation of left middle finger, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S63.253A and S63.253D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Can these codes be reported together?
Same injury, other encounter phase. S63.253A and S63.253D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.
The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.
Side by side
| S63.253AUnspecified dislocation of left middle finger, initial encounter | S63.253DUnspecified dislocation of left middle finger, subsequent encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88) | S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88) |
| Definition | Unspecified dislocation of left middle finger, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S63.253A). | Unspecified dislocation of left middle finger, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S63.253D). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S63 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S63 |
| Includes | avulsion of joint or ligament at wrist and hand level laceration of cartilage, joint or ligament at wrist and hand level sprain of cartilage, joint or ligament at wrist and hand level traumatic hemarthrosis of joint or ligament at wrist and hand level | avulsion of joint or ligament at wrist and hand level laceration of cartilage, joint or ligament at wrist and hand level sprain of cartilage, joint or ligament at wrist and hand level traumatic hemarthrosis of joint or ligament at wrist and hand level |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources